Ogun: 1,500 residents to enjoy free eye surgeries

The Ogun State government on Wednesday said that no fewer than 1,500 residents in the state would enjoy free eye surgeries.

Commissioner for health, Tomi Coker, said this at the General Hospital, Ikenne, during the inaugural ceremony of the Free Eye Care programme for residents across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The programme is a collaborative effort of the Ogun government, `8th of March’ Initiative, an NGO, and the National Eye Centre.

She noted that some people would enjoy free eye surgeries, while others would gain access to consultations, screening and other corrective eye care interventions.

She stated that the intervention would be replicated at the General Hospitals in Idiroko and Owode-egba, between May 31 and June 9.

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She said that the `8th of March’ Initiative, which is the brainchild of the friends of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is aimed at conducting free eye surgeries for 6, 000 individuals across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

She added that it was created to commemorate the Vice- President’s birthday.

“It gladdens my heart that Ogun State happens to benefit from this great intervention which is access to quality eye care services especially by the people in the rural areas.

“It is imperative that existent resources are effectively used, targeting the major avoidable causes of blindness.

“Here in Ogun, it was identified in a study as far back as 20 years ago that something as seemingly simple as cataract was responsible for 36.6 per cent of visual impairments,’’ she said.

Coker said that the same study demonstrated that 87.5 per cent of blindness and 75.7 per cent of visual impairment are avoidable.

“We cannot be grateful enough for this programme,’’ she said.

The commissioner commended Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun for creating an enabling environment that continued to attract life-improving collaborative interventions.

She, however, appealed to the residents of the state to avail themselves of the programme, especially the aged, to receive quality eye care services from the professionals.

In her message, Ebi Awosika, the senior technical assistant to the president on community engagement, described Osinbajo as a lover of social interventions that would improve the lives of indigents across the country.